Although many home movie enthusiasts are satisfied with taking video and then subsequently showing the raw video footage to acquaintances, the trend today is toward more post-show editing to improve the product. The ready availability of digital cameras and editing software which runs on conventional personal computers has encouraged even the novice videographer to try his or her hand at editing. Obviously, a properly edited video can be much more entertaining and enjoyable for the viewer than the unedited footage which may contain large sections of unusable or irrelevant material. Additionally, to the extent that background music, transition effects, etc., are added to the project, the work can take on a near-professional quality which, for some individuals, is its own reward.
There are any number of computer programs that provide a user with the ability to edit digital video. Companies such as Adobe, Avid, Apple, and many others provide high-end solutions which would be suitable for use in a professional environment. Others have concentrated on the consumer market, but typically those programs are merely scaled down version of the high end products. That is, the main focus of such consumer products is often to ease the novice user into the market for the more expensive product by selling him or her an editor with a restricted number of features as compared to the high-end program. Seldom is there any consideration given to the basic problem of streamlining the entire process from assembly of discrete video clips to writing a finished product to DVD or tape.
Of course, from the end-user's perspective digital editing of video can be a daunting process. The software that is available for purchase is complex and there is usually little guidance offered as to where to begin. For example, upon starting a video editing program the user is typically confronted with a computer screen full of empty windows. Just learning the usage and features of each such window can take time and effort. Further, just learning the vocabulary of video editing (e.g., transitions, key frames, slip/slide/rolling edits, etc.) is itself sometimes a major undertaking.
This is in spite of the fact that most home users' video editing needs are actually, for the most part, fairly modest. What a user typically wants to do is to organize video footage from an event or holiday (e.g., a birthday, family reunion, Christmas morning package opening, trip to an amusement park, etc.) into a more pleasing format, deleting footage that was out of focus, underexposed, etc., and adding video transition, titles, music and/or other sound effects to give the movie a more polished appearance.
As a consequence, many nonprofessional users have avoided venturing into the realm of video editing as they are not willing to invest the time and effort necessary to master the specialized tools, technology, and terminology of the trade.
Thus, what is needed is a method for assisting a user quickly organize his or her video images into a coherent work. It would additionally be preferred that simplified options be provided for titling the work, adding transitions between scenes, eliminating unwanted footage, etc., to create a final product that has a polished appearance.
Heretofore, as is well known in the video editing industry, there has been a need for an invention to address and solve the above-described problems. Accordingly, it should now be recognized, as was recognized by the present inventors, that there exists, and has existed for some time, a very real need for a system and method that would address and solve the above-described problems.
Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or preferred embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of this invention within the ambit of the appended claims.